USNS Fall River (JHSV-4)

Career (US)
Name: USNS Fall River
Namesake: Fall River, Massachusetts
Operator: Military Sealift Command
Awarded: 29 October 2010
Builder: Austal
Launched: 16 January 2014
Sponsored by: Diane Bemus Patrick
Christened: 11 January 2014
In service: 15 September 2014
Status: in active service, as of 2015
General characteristics
Class and type:Spearhead class Joint High Speed Vessel
Length:103.0 m (337 ft 11 in)
Beam:28.5 m (93 ft 6 in)
Draft:3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Propulsion:4 × MTU 20V8000 M71L diesel engines
4 × ZF 60000NR2H reduction gears
Speed:43 knots (80 km/h; 49 mph)
Troops:312
Crew:41
Aircraft carried:Medium helicopter

USNS Fall River is the fourth Spearhead-class Joint High Speed Vessel, to be part of the United States Military Sealift Command and was built in Mobile, Alabama.[1][2]

On 23 March 2010, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced in Fall River, Massachusetts that the fourth Joint High Speed Vessel will be named USNS Fall River. Since the ship will be operated by the Military Sealift Command and not the United States Navy itself, it will carry the USNS designation and not USS.[3][4][5]

The ship was christened on January 11, 2014 by First Lady of Massachusetts, Diane Bemus Patrick, at Austal USA's Shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.[6] The ship was launched seven days later on the 16th of January.[7] The Fall River completed acceptance trials on 25 July 2014. Following delivery and Final Contract Trials (FCT) later in the year,[8] the Fall River was accepted into MSC service on 15 September 2014.[9]

Capabilities

The JHSV will be able to transport US Army and US Marine Corps company-sized units with their vehicles, or reconfigure to become a troop transport for an infantry battalion.[1]

It will have a flight deck for helicopter operations and a loading ramp that will allow vehicles to quickly drive on and off the ship. The ramp will be suitable for the types of austere piers and quay walls common in developing countries. JHSV will have a shallow draft (under 15 feet (4.6 m)).[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), USN. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  2. ↑ Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  3. ↑ Welker, Grant; GateHouse News Service (25 March 2010). "Navy names ship after Fall River in honor of city’s service". Herald News (Fall River, Massachusetts). Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  4. ↑ SecNav: 4th JHSV will be Fall River (25 March 2010). "SecNav: 4th JHSV will be Fall River". Military Daily News. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  5. ↑ Ewing, Philip (25 March 2010). "SecNav: 4th JSHV will be Fall River – Navy News, news from Iraq". Navy Times. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  6. ↑ Bowden, Michelle; austalusa.com (11 January 2014). "USNS FALL RIVER (JHSV 4) CHRISTENED - ONE OF SEVEN NAVY VESSELS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT AUSTAL USA". Austal USA Website (Mobile, Alabama). Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  7. ↑ Bowden, Michelle; austalusa.com (16 January 2014). "AUSTAL LAUNCHES USNS FALL RIVER (JHSV 4). FIRST OF FOUR NAVY SHIPS TO BE LAUNCHED AT AUSTAL IN 2014". Austal USA Website (Mobile, Alabama). Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  8. ↑ USNS Fall River (JHSV 4) Completes Acceptance Trials - Seapowermagazine.org, 1 August 2014
  9. ↑ Fourth Joint High Speed Vessel Delivers - News.USNI.org, 15 September 2014

External links